The loss after taxation compared with a net profit of $6.17-billion in 2011, Anglo said in a results statement on Friday.

That was Anglo American's first net loss in more than a decade as the London-listed miner was also hurt by a sharp fall in global commodity prices.

The dire news comes one day after its Anglo-Australian rival Rio Tinto posted a 2012 net loss of $2.99-billion due to hefty writedowns on its Mozambique coal and aluminium businesses.

That marked Rio's first net loss since becoming a dual-listed company in 1995 and was also due to a dip in commodity markets.

Anglo added on Friday that its operational profit, stripping out exceptional items such as the impairment charge, dived 44% to $6.16-billion. That was broadly in line with analysts' expectations.
Group sales meanwhile fell 5.9% to $28.8-billion.

And the company also hiked its full-year shareholder dividend by 15% to $0.53 per share, citing confidence in the underlying business.